The St. Cloud State football team has a mixture of experience and youth sprinkled throughout its starting lineup to begin the 2014 season.

The No. 15 Huskies, who are coming off a run to the Division II national quarterfinals last season, begin the season at 6 p.m. on Thursday at No. 7 Minnesota State-Mankato.

The Huskies return five starters on both sides of the ball.

On offense, St. Cloud State brings back four of its five starting lineman in left tackle Karl Eichinger, left guard Rafael Saez, center Bret Piekarski and right guard Brahn Olson. Senior tight end Grant Thayer is the other starter back on offense.

Here's a position-by-position look at this year's St. Cloud State lineup:

Offense

Quarterback

The St. Cloud State preview takes an extensive look at the battle between sophomores Nate Meyer and Jameson Parsons. Meyer will get the start at Mankato on Thursday, but Parsons will see plenty of time.

Redshirt freshman McKinley Anderson will be the third-string quarterback. Freshman Alex Lennartz will redshirt this season.

Running back

Junior Ledell White is the starter this season after backing up Michael Walker for the past two seasons.

White had 98 carries for 482 yards and five TDs last season. Walker's little brother, Kenneth, is White's backup, but could be used plenty in the passing game as well. Kenneth ran for 396 yards and four TDs last season.

St. Cloud State head coach Scott Underwood has hinted that the team could use Walker and White together in the backfield at times this season with White being more of a blocker as a fullback.

"You're talking about guys who played a lot for us last year in Ledell and Kenneth," Underwood said. "They made plays. The big thing for both of them is trying to stay healthy. We're going to rely on them a lot. You might see both of them back there at times."

True freshman Jaden Huff will be the third-string running back.

Wide receiver

Senior Taylor Berger and sophomore Matt Hentges are the only receivers back with experience.

Berger had 24 catches for 507 yards and four TDs last season and Hentges had nine catches for 187 yards and a TD. Both will start this season with 5-10, 150-pound redshirt freshman Brett Wainwright starting at the slot position vacated by Chad Peterson and Damon Treat.

"Taylor's made a lot of plays for us in his career and we'll rely on him again to lead us at receiver. He has a lot of ability to do different things for us," Underwood said.

Underwood has come away impressed with Wainwright at fall camp.

"Brett's not a very big guy, but he competes at a high level," Underwood said. "He'll do whatever it takes to be successful at that position. I've been impressed with him coming off the redshirt season. He was our offensive redshirt player of the year. There's a lot of savvy to him. He really holds up well for his size and can go up against bigger guys."

Sophomore Joe Mooney, redshirt freshman Kasai Farris and junior C.J. Price will also see plenty of time at receiver to begin the season.

Tight end

Thayer will be the starter again this season. He had 18 catches for 356 yards and two touchdowns a year ago while he played alongside Corey Henne.

Thayer's backup this season will be 6-1, 235-pound Brandon Richmond. True freshman Sam Hartman could also see time this season as a third-stringer.

"Grant has to step up and be a solid contributor," St. Cloud State co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Doug Patterson said. "He needs to find a different level of consistency both physically and mentally.

"Brandon and Sam have a chance to be good players. They're going to get some experience this season."

Offensive line

The biggest strength the offense will have will be the returners on the offensive line. Andrew Pollard will take over for Mitch Weideman at right tackle. Weideman was a first team All-NSIC North Division selection last year.

The 6-4, 320-pound Pollard received playing time at the end of last season when Weideman started to come down with back and knee problems. Pollard started against Winona State and Northwest Missouri State in the national quarterfinals last year.

"Andrew played pretty good in that playoff game against an All-American kid in Matt Longacre. He was as good as it got in the country last year," Patterson said. "He wasn't dominating, but he didn't get killed.

"I think he'll be OK. He still has a lot to learn. Last year, he filled in when guys got hurt. Being a starter will be a learning experience for him."

St. Cloud State ran for 190.6 yards a game last season. The running game will be the offense's strength to begin the season.

"I think we're going to have to run the ball some to win this year. We can't get into shootouts. We have to control the ball with Ledell and Kenneth," Patterson said. "Still, we have to be consistent with the run and the pass. We can't get stonewalled into running the ball all the time."

Patterson said Saez is healthier this season after he battled nagging injuries last season.

"He's as healthy as he's ever been," Patterson said. "He's moving around better and we hope he can maintain that through the whole season."

Defense

Defensive line

The book-ends of Bias and Putrah are forming the backbone of St. Cloud State's defense this season.

Putrah led the Huskies with nine sacks and 15 tackles for a loss last season. Bias is making the transition back out to end after playing at tackle last season. He had 41 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss and one sack last season.

"We need to get a lot of productivity out of Bo and Jeff," Underwood said. "We feel like they're going to have great seasons. They're athletic and can make a difference out there."

True freshman Mason Kramer will start at nose guard and Smith will get the nod at defensive tackle. Kramer is a 6-foot, 295-pounder from Minot, N.D.

"Mason's done well for a freshman," Underwood said. "He's come in and competed at a high level. He's 300 pounds and has a low center of gravity. He has good strength. We're excited to see him compete. He has really come on strong of late."

Sophomore Kile Minnis and senior Riley Kampsen will also see time on the interior. Senior Aaron Pavek and sophomore Ben Watters will back up Bias and Putrah.

Linebacker

Sophomore Adam Josephson will be the leader in the line-backing corps this season at the strong side. The Minneota native returns with the most experience after being a backup to Tate Christopherson a year ago.

Redshirt freshman Nathan Holasek will start on the weakside and redshirt freshman Brady Westart gets the call at the zombie linebacker spot.

"Nathan's a guy who got some snaps a year ago, but he's raw at times," Underwood said. "He'll make some mistakes. We hope he can adjust pretty easily because he's physical and has a solid body type.

"Brady can be a safety or a linebacker. He'll be a force at times. He's gotten a clean bill of health after being dinged-up early. He's a second-year kid who is learning on the fly. We have a lot of younger guys at linebacker."

Freshman Gary Koehring, junior Bob Rada and freshman Craig Szymanski will also see time at linebacker early on.

Secondary

Kyle Risinger will be the leader of the secondary after finishing a strong junior campaign. The Minnetonka High grad had 69 tackles and two interceptions last season while starting alongside Jack Moro and Eric Poggenburg.

"He's there to get everyone on the same page," Underwood said of Risinger. "He has experience and we'll rely on that."

Redshirt freshman Carvel Graham is expected to start next to Risinger at the rover safety spot. Junior Gabe Coleman will back up Graham and sophomore Stephen Schneider will back up Risinger.

Sefon is back at one of the cornerbacks and will be joined by redshirt freshman Keyshawn Davis on the other side. Davis also goes out for the St. Cloud State track and field team. Freshman Dwayne Wade and junior Bobby Wills will back up at the corner spots.

The Huskies will play plenty of true freshman this season.

Kramer, Koering, Szymanski, Hartman and wide receiver J.T. Butler will probably see the most time as true freshman.

"It reminds me a lot of a few years ago when Damon Treat, Mike Walker and Eric Poggenburg all played as freshman," Underwood said. "We're shorthanded. They'll have to learn the speed of the game. We'll definitely have a lot more game experience a year from now.

"Some kids won't be redshirted. We're young from the sophomore class on down."

Special teams

Senior Eric Mielke will be the starting kicker and punter again this season. Mielke averaged 33.2 yards per punt last season. He went 5 of 9 on field goals with his longest make coming from 30 yards away.

Sophomore Derek Witte will handle kickoff duties again this year.

"Both kickers had a good camp," Underwood said. "We hope they can continue that success into the season."

Kenneth Walker and Wainwright will handle kick and punt return duties to start the season.